The District Industries Centre (DIC), Thiruvananthapuram, is planning to set up a labour bank for encouraging allied industries in the solar power sector and to meet manpower needs in this sector, District Collector K N Satheesh and Industries Centre general manager R Ramesh Chandran said on Monday.
The centre also plans to disburse Rs 106.14 crore as margin money grant and to open 150 new industrial units this year, they told a press conference. The State Government has also given its nod for construction a multi-storeyed building at the industrial development area in Kochuveli, they said.
The District Industries Centre has set an example for government agencies by achieving cent per cent plan fund utilisation, the officials said. Of the Rs 3.60 crore earmarked for the development of micro and small industries and handloom industries, Rs 2.34 crore was spent on the handloom sector and Rs 1.25 crore on micro and small industries.
During the 2012-13 financial year, 1,483 units filed memorandum Part II. Of them, 730 units are from the production sector and 753 from the service sector, they said. These enterprises have been started with a total outlay of Rs 188 crore and has created around 9,372 job opportunities and achieved production turnover to the tune of Rs 400 crore. As many as 2,874 units filed Part I as per the Small and Medium Scale Industries Act. These units are expected to create 15,668 job opportunities.
As many as ten industrial units were revamped during the 2012-13 fiscal. In a bid to turn more industry friendly, the District Industries Centre also opened an information counter and an entrepreneurs guidance cell and Information Counter. As many as 33 applications were received through the single window system and green channel counter. A women’s handloom unit also was opened at Manjavilakath during the financial year.